-make it alright-
-chapter twenty-nine-

Morning light in the desert seemed like a pleasant enough concept. But when Melissa woke up that fateful morning, it was anything but. Morning light in the desert sucks, she decided. Especially when it shone directly in your eyes. Especially when it woke up. Before noon. On New Year�s day. Especially when you had a pounding headache. No, not a headache. We�re talking KILLER hangover.

Melissa Baras DID NOT drink. Or at least, she hadn�t. That had all changed when she got to college. Sadie, the roommate Melissa had assumed would be an innocent teenybopper, was anything but. Sadie had grown up in Las Vegas, accustomed to the party lifestyle. A lifestyle that had worn off on Melissa when she�d sworn to stop thinking about Nick and move on with her life.

Melissa massaged her temples with her fingertips. Never in her life had she experienced more pain and discomfort then at that moment. It was worse then the time she broke all the toes in her left foot trying to pull a Kate Winslet a la Titanic. It was worse then when she dislocated her knee in dance. And it was worse then all the times she�d spent throwing up as a result of too-painful cramps once a month.

Melissa didn�t remember what happened the previous night to lead to such a behavior. With enough thought, she probably could have pieced together memories and figure out what happened. But Melissa didn�t care that much. Thinking required use of her brain, and that simply hurt too much. Melissa just wanted to curl up into a ball and sleep the rest of the day away.

Miserably, Melissa reached for her pillow, hoping to drown out any sounds that would make her head pound more severely. But as much as she tugged, the pillow simply wouldn�t come. Great, Melissa groaned. She rolled over onto her side, trying to figure out what the problem was. That�s when she saw him.

Jorge lay asleep next to her, his head resting on her pillow. The sight shouldn�t have been too odd. Melissa had always slept in the same bed as her friends- guy or girl. But something didn�t feel right about the situation. Call it a woman�s intuition, but Melissa knew something was wrong.

�Shit! Jorge! Wake up!� Melissa said as she urgently shook her best friend.

He moaned. Not even waking up, Jorge shook Melissa�s arms off his body. He rolled off the pillow, and tossed it at her head. �Would you keep it down? My head is killing me!�

�No, Jorge. You have to wake up.� Melissa persisted. �Do you remember what happened last night?�

Jorge opened one eye, peering at Melissa. She cringed. His eye was bloodshot and did not look too pretty. �No, I don�t know what happened to last night. But I feel like shit, so I�m assuming I was drinking. A lot.�

Jorge closed his eye and lay back down on the bed. �And from the way you�re dressed, I�d have to say you knocked back a few drinks of your own.�

Melissa looked down. Seeing her own naked body exposed, she gasped. And clutched a white cotton sheet around her body. It wasn�t as if she were self-conscious. As a dancer, she couldn�t be. Jorge had even seen her naked before, and vice versa. That happened when you had fast costume changes in a performance. But she had never, EVER slept naked with a boy lying next to her. Underwear, yes. But naked, no.

Melissa picked up the sheet, peeking underneath. Sure enough, her worst fear was confirmed. Jorge too was not wearing any clothes.

�SADIE!!!� Melissa hollered. She leapt from the bed, throwing on the first article of clothing she could find. Jorge�s blue cotton sweater from Abercrombie & Fitch. If there was one person who would know what went on last night, it was Sadie. The girl could single-handily down a six-pack and is perfectly chipper the next morning.

�You rang?� Sadie asked a moment later as she entered the guest bedroom of her parents� house, where Jorge and Melissa had been staying. She was dressed in a blue satin bathrobe with a pleasant smile across her pretty face. In her left hand, she carried a crystal glass.

�Sadie, what happened last night?� Melissa demanded.

�You don�t remember?� Sadie faked surprised. �Really, I�m disappointed in you. I invite you and your best friend into my house, try and show you a good time on New Year�s Eve and this is the thanks I get?�

Melissa rolled her eyes. Sadie, she�d learned, was quite a character to deal with. Sadie was the quintessential Miss Popularity. Half the time she was the supreme bitch, over times she was the greatest friend you could ever ask for. You just had to get her in the right mood. No matter what she did to you, you couldn�t help but love her.

�Don�t fuck with me right now, Sadie. What happened?�

Melissa NEVER swore. So when she did, you knew you had to take her seriously. Sadie took a seat on the edge of the bed. She patted the spot next to her, motioning for Melissa to sit down.

�I scored all of us a couple of fake I.D.s and snuck us into Studio 54. We spent the night dancing and drinking. We got home around 4AM and you and Jorge came back in here to�well, you know.� Sadie blushed.

That caught Jorge�s attention. He sat up, listening into the conversation. �What did Mel and I do?�

�Sadie, Jorge is GAY. And I�m a virgin.� Melissa said with fear in her voice.

�Correction, you WERE a virgin.�

Melissa felt as if the wind had been knocked out of her. She couldn�t speak. Her entire body felt numb with shock.

�Are you sure?� Jorge asked warily.

Sadie nodded her head. �Pretty sure. You two were kinda loud.�

�I think I�m going to be sick,� Melissa said uneasily. Sadie helped her to her feet, guiding the girl into the adjoining bathroom. After pulling on his briefs, Jorge follow. He and Sadie knelt beside Melissa on the bathroom floor. Pulling her hair away from her face as she threw-up.

�You going to be okay?� After it seemed to be over, Sadie wiped Melissa�s face with a dampened washcloth. Melissa shook her head. She wasn�t ready to respond yet, couldn�t seem to find the words. Too many thoughts flooded her brain, and she couldn�t seem to make sense of them.

Thank God for Jorge. He seemed to know just what to do, how to react. His hand was on the small of Melissa�s back, slowly rubbing it in circles. It helped a little to soothe her nerves.

�Do you think we used anything?� Jorge asked Sadie.

She nodded. �I gave you a handful of condoms before you locked yourself in the room. But if you�re worried- there�s always that 72 hours contraceptive thing.�

�So you knew what we were doing and didn�t try and stop us?� Fury began to build up within Jorge.

�God, I�m not your mother.� Sadie defended herself. �You two are eighteen years old. That�s old enough to make your own decisions.

�Besides,� She said with a shrug. �I figured it would be good for Melissa.�

�Good for me?� Melissa asked angrily. �How could it be good for me to forget about the morals that I�ve held onto my entire life? How could it be good for me to sleep with my gay best friend? What if I wind up pregnant, Sadie? How could that be good for me?�

�Chill,� Sadie said soothingly. She took a sip of her drink- champagne left over from the night before. �You�re not going to get pregnant. We�ll go get you that 72-hour contraceptive as soon as you�re dressed. Besides, I figured you needed a good lay. You get so stressed sometimes. I know it�s about that mystery boy you never talk about. I thought this would help you loosen up.�

Mystery boy? How�d she know? I�ve been so careful not to mention Ni- oh my Lord�

Melissa turned to Jorge. Her eyes were wide with fear and worry. She grabbed his upper arms, holding on tightly. �Fuck, Jorge!�

�What?� He was concerned, brushing her hair off her shoulders.

�Brent, Jorge, Brent! I cheated on my boyfriend!�

Jorge and Melissa stared at one another sadly. Both were regretting their stupid acts the night before. Melissa had cheated on her boyfriend. And there was no way to take it back.

�Oh my God, Melissa.� Sadie�s voice was filled with remorse. �I forgot all about Brent last night. Had I remembered, I never would have let this happen. I swear.�

But all Melissa could do was shake her head. �No, Sadie. You were right in the first place. I�m a big girl. I need to take responsibility for my actions. �I just don�t know how I�m going to tell him.�

Silence fell over the threesome. They sat together on the cold tile floor of the Anderson�s bathroom, wishing they could turn back time. Sadie took another sip of her champagne, which caused Jorge to laugh.

�Sadie, why are you drinking? Its not even noon!�

�Don�t you remember what we�re doing tonight?�

Of course. That�s the whole reason I came back from Christmas break early. The whole reason why Jorge flew in from California. Why we were staying with the Anderson�s in the first place.

�*NSYNC.� Jorge and Melissa both noted at the same time. Sadie had scored the threesome 11th row seats to that night�s concert, the first of the New Year.

�That�s right,� Sadie agreed with a smile. �I figured I�d get a little buzz going beforehand. Because that is the only way in hell I�m going to enjoy myself at a fucking *NSYNC concert.�

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